FCI Staff Writer Sacramento 
fciwomenswrestling.com article, pcmag.com photo
One of the best memories for a young woman is buying her first car (especially if the parents pay for it).
Auto makers love the youthful female market and have designed and built an array of smart cars to suit her needs.
The informative site autobytel.com shares an experience. “What happens when carmakers across America are asked to bring their favorite cars to a group of the most influential women car journalists to test drive? Well, at the yearly woman’s car evaluation gathering, “Heels and Wheels,” female employees of 12 car brands brought together 14 cars for 22 automotive journalist women to review at a two day driving event, this year held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Westlake Village, CA.[adToAppearHere]
The women had plenty of time to run the cars through their paces on city streets, from LA freeways to the windy roads of Mullholland Drive and Kanan Road to the beaches of Malibu. Although these drives will ultimately result in many new car online reviews, Autobytel added a bit of fun to the process by asking our journos to pick just one car they would buy if they were in the market right now.”
One of the cars that tested well and is selling well to the young female market is the Kia Sorento.
If you are in the market, why don’t we present you with the goods straight from the most knowledgeable source; the manufacturer.
Kiamedia.com relates, “Kia’s design and engineering teams focused on a stronger body structure, delivering premium-grade NVH reduction and providing the driving confidence to enable the active lifestyle CUV owners covet. Sorento buyers have their choice of three engines, including a new 2.0-liter turbocharged four cylinder, the silky smooth 3.3-liter V6 and an improved 2.4-liter normally aspirated inline-4. Standard premium features and luxurious amenities will be available across five trim levels – L, LX, EX, SX and SXL – when U.S. sales begin in January, 2015.
Inspired Exterior
Reimagining the Sorento was no easy task for Kia’s designers, as the previous generation was lauded for its exceptional design. Not unlike the sophisticated Cross GT concept, which debuted at the Chicago Auto Show in 2013, the new Sorento finds some of its design inspiration in nature, as well as in the journey to nature’s outdoor adventures, revealing a vehicle of exceptional exterior presence that is larger than the outgoing model in nearly every way.
Sitting below the headlights, the lower intake and fog lamp pockets are more prominent, creating a sportier appearance, which blends harmoniously with the overall design proportions. Premium enhancements include available LED rear dimensional tail lamps and LED fog lamps. The Sorento’s muscular body sits atop four new alloy wheel designs ranging from 17 to 19 inches, depending on trim level.[adToAppearHere]
Class-Up Interior
With an overall interior theme focused on the stability of a horizontal plane, the design motif provides a strong foundation for the premium textures and high-quality materials found throughout the 2016 Sorento’s cabin. The liberal application of soft-touch materials is particularly evident around the instrument panel, center console and door panels.
The available premium sound system is well suited to Sorento’s now-more-upscale interior environment. Piping in music from an available 630-watt, 12-speaker Infinity®2 stereo system with an 11-channel amplifier, audiophile sound has gone mobile in the Sorento with the addition of Clari-Fi technology. Clari–Fi works in real-time to rebuild audio details lost in digitally compressed music via an algorithm that intelligently and seamlessly reconstructs the material to restore to the listening experience, regardless of the source. With Clari-Fi, music sounds cleaner, crisper, wider and more dynamic.
New in the 2016 Sorento, four additional UVO eServices are now available: Geo-fencing, Speed Alert, Curfew Alert and Driving Score3. Additionally, with the introduction of the Kia App store4, select apps can be downloaded for free from iTunes®5 or Google PlaySM6. The Kia app connector is now available for partnership with the content community for downloading apps such as Yelp®7, while Soundhound, Pandora®8 and iHeart® Radio9 (late availability) come preloaded. Many more new technologies for comfort and convenience are featured in the new UVO system, including Siri® “Eyes Free”5 and Local Search – powered by Google® – for finding locations, addresses and points of interest. Sirius XM Travel Link10, offering access to traffic, weather, fuel prices, sports scores, stock information and movie times, keeps you well connected while taking those weekend excursions in the Sorento.
A New Driving Experience
The all-new 2016 Sorento offers a number of safety features, including seatbelt anchor pretensioners and six airbags, to help give drivers the confidence and peace-of-mind they need when motoring with their friends and loved ones on the nation’s highways and bi-ways. All Sorento models come standard with active safety features such as Electronic Stability Control (ESC)14, Traction Control System (TCS)14, Brake Assist System (BAS)14, Hill-start Assist Control (HAC)14, Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD)14 and Antilock Braking System (ABS)14. Additional technologies such as Roll Over Mitigation (ROM)14 and Cornering Brake Control (CBC)14 on AWD models also were added as standard equipment for improved dynamic control and safety.
New available driver aid technology, including Vehicle Stability Management (VSM)15, Forward Collision Warning System (FCWS)15, Smart Cruise Control (SCC)15, Blind Spot Detection (BSD)15, Rear Cross Traffic Alert15 and Surround View Monitor (SVM)15, help provide Sorento owners with a more convenient daily driving experience.
The spirited front- or all-wheel drive experience is brought to life with a choice of three engines, including a 2.4-liter inline-4 GDI, a 3.3-liter V6 GDI and a new 2.0-liter inline-4 GDI turbocharged powerplant. The 2.4-liter engine, with new Electronic Intake Continuously Variable Valve Timing (E-CVVT) delivers a capable 185 horsepower.
On the other end of the engine range, the Sorento’s V6 gallops to the tune of 290 horses on the open road and with that power, the Sorento is now able to tow up to 5,000 lbs when equipped with AWD. In the middle, the new turbocharged I-4 provides a best-of-both-worlds scenario, making a stout 240 horsepower while also delivering commendable fuel efficiency16. All three engines channel energy through an electronically controlled six-speed automatic gearbox featuring Sportmatic® shifting.
Information about KMA and its full vehicle line-up is available at www.kia.com. For media information, including photography, visit www.kiamedia.com.
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Sources: brainyquote.com, Wikipedia, fciwomenswrestling.com, fciwomenswrestling2.com, FCI Elite Competitor, photos thank you Wikimedia Commons.
http://www.kiamedia.com/us/en/media/pressreleases/9649/2016-sorento-overview
http://www.autobytel.com/car-buying-guides/features/11-influential-women-pick-10-best-new-cars-for-2015-128966/
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